Registration (code) .. VS .. Download Full Version

[Jamie W]

I notice that with a lot of shareware games (and shareware in general), the mechanism for purchasing the game, is buying a serial number to unlock the demo / trial version a customer has.

The trial version, contains all the code and data, needed to play the full game.

What are the pro's and con's of this? (i.e. as opposed to having seperate 'demo' and 'full' versions of your game).

I'm thinking that one issue is when (some) people just need to enter a code to get your game, they may already feel that they own the game anway (i.e. they have the code and data already on their PC, waiting to be unlocked), so may as well just get a crack / serial for it.

Having to buy, and then download a full version, may give the impression (it's a 'perception thing') that they're actually getting something extra.

Just a thought! I'm certainly no expert, but I'd like to know what the good (and more experienced than I in these matters) folk of the forum feel about the relative merits of serial codes VS 'download a (seperate) full version'.

[luggage]

Once a code or crack becomes available every man and his dog will be downloading the demo (and soon to be full game) upping bandwidth costs.

Using a seperate version there's much less chance of a tiny crack becoming available. Not many sites will want to host a few meg of data for someone to have to grab as well.

The size for the demo can also be smaller if you're using a seperate download version. You can trim out anything that can't be reached.

It's easier to work with an unlock code. Just one version to manage rather than at least two.

[cliffski]

I changed from codes to full versions and havent looked back. I think it does impact on casual piracy. I also had some people very confused by reg codes, they kept asking where to download the full version.
Unless you have a really good reason to go with reg codes, I would do a separate full version.

[JoKa]

I switched to codes because I didn't want to care about different versions anymore. Also, some users had problems to use their download-links or error messages because of broken downloads. So far I see no difference in sales and no significant raise in website traffic.

[TheMysteriousStranger]

The other thing to consider is that using codes and a timed expiry (e.g. they get one hour's play after installing the trial version) the user gets to experience the whole game and will know if their computer is up to scratch. Some users might get really annoyed by paying for a full version, only to find a feature of the full version runs like crap on their system. Or worse, they find an incompatability with their system/bug in the full version.

Obviously this issue only attains to some kinds of games, because with larger games the user is unlikely to experience a large portion of the game before the trial expires, and so the same issue arises.

One other thing to think about is poor old Mr dial-up-modem. If they download a 4MB game, then buy it only to find out the full download is 30MB, they might just have a minor stroke.

And one more thing...

Not many sites will want to host a few meg of data for someone to have to grab as well.

This is no longer an issue for pirates. All the warez monkeys have usurped file share sites like rapidshare and megaupload. Take a visit to somewhere like rapidshared dot org and see the games section. There are tons of full version casual games on there. Even the ones with big full version downloads like mystery case files huntsville. The file share sites are good and will take down a file if you tell them it's copyrighted, but there's so many being uploaded all the time, that it's a losing battle.

[luggage]

Regarding the dial up - If they get annoyed at that they certainly wouldn't have downloaded a 30MB time limited version. At least if you do get them to buy the 30MB download version you've got their money and after spending the money they'll be more likely to actually download the 30MB.

As for pirates - it doesn't give you a 100% protection but it will still offer protection to some extent. If someone's going to grab a pirated version I'd rather they got it from some site rather than my own. At least it's not me paying for the bandwidth then.

[cliffski]

can u remove the link to that warez list, it doesnt help if its linked everywhere.

[TheMysteriousStranger]

Oops, sorry. Didn't realise it was auto linking it

[Tom Gilleland]

I've been working on this very thing recently, and I'm thinking the best solution is to do a full version and a reg-code demo version. If a customer buys the game from your site they get an email that has a link to a full version, as well as a personalized reg-code to unlock a demo version. Then you just tell them they can either type in the code and unlock the game, or download a complete full version.

Business Tip# 232: Let the customer choose the best solution for themselves.

The only disadvantage I see is the extra server space and multiple versions to deal with. (But I have to make the multiple versions anyway for other channels like CDs, portals, etc.)

We're doing the First Hour Free demo version for our games and we wrote our own simple reg-code system. The reg-code is of the format (Tom Gilleland 1234) The name is taken from their credit card on the order. Since their name is in the reg-code I think that will disuade them from sharing the code with everyone. Some company patented this "Name in the Reg-Code" idea, but fortunately we implemented this in some of our early programs years before that patent. So this is my gift to the developer community - prior usage on "Name in the Reg-Code" :) In fact, I just helped Apple with a prior usage of categorized sound lists in the iTunes interface. This software patent stuff is pretty messed up - I digress...

Tom

[Huge]

I will be using reg codes to allow "you could be playing the whole game in 30 seconds - enter reg code to continue" from in the middle of the game, hoping to get some impulse buy action.

[dxgame]

I'm going to full version download purchases for everything from now on. Like another user said, you can't stop the pirates, but at least now the bandwidth expense from all the pirates will be from someone else's dollar. ;)

[dmikesell]

I can only hope that my game will be popular enough to make it on a warez site. Face it, people that steal games aren't lost sales - they wouldn't have bought the game anyway. Consider it free advertising.

[Savant]

Consider it free advertising.
Free advertising to ... who? The pirate and their friends who weren't going to buy the game anyway?

[luggage]

It's not the lost sales so much. It's the problem of having a demo than can be unlocked to the full version. If a warez site lists a valid code or a crack they'll point people to your website to get the demo version that will be unlocked.

This is bad. You'll be paying for the bandwidth without getting the sales associated with it.

[dmikesell]

Free advertising to ... who? The pirate and their friends who weren't going to buy the game anyway?

You're assuming everyone that sees the game is a thief as well.

[Savant]

You're assuming everyone that sees the game is a thief as well.
People tend to run in circles of friends who share simliar interests with themselves. In the case of pirates, most of them will be people who would never have bought.

[yanuart]

I can only hope that my game will be popular enough to make it on a warez site.
As a developer who had experienced his game being showcased on several warez site : No, you don't want that to happen !
Those guys are so mean and cheap they leech the game and host the cracked files on rapidshare.

[dmikesell]

People tend to run in circles of friends who share simliar interests with themselves. In the case of pirates, most of them will be people who would never have bought.

Perhaps. I just know that I got exposed to Doom in '93 because I saw people playing it in the office (demo). Games were really not on my radar back then, but I was mesmerized by it and ended up buying it, even though cracks were available. I've bought every Id product since.

Maybe I'm overly optimistic, but I think any exposure is good exposure.

[yanuart]

even if you see it that way, you'll expose your game to the wrong audience. These days warez site usually from you-know-what country that don't even use latin characters set, guess who'll be downloading and playing your game ? Will they ever convert ? NVR !
Your potential buyers are not people who usually go to warez site to find pirated software therefore I don't see any reason why I'd be happy if my game ended up there.